
Niels Kristiansen
CEO, co-founder
Niels is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Portchain. Previously, he worked at McKinsey advising primarily container terminals and lines on strategy and digitization. He also led McKinsey’s first internal startup, where he led the development of an application for the shipping industry. Niels studied Economics at the University of Gothenburg and Oxford, and has an M.B.A. from M.I.T.

Anders Olivarius
CIO, co-founder
Anders is co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Portchain. Previously, he worked at McKinsey leading the development of several B2B applications. Anders was Product Manager for a SaaS application that used machine learning to predict vessel arrivals for container terminals. He led several end-to-end process digitization efforts across leading logistics and financial institutions.

Thor Thorup
CCO, co-founder
Thor is co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Portchain. Previously, he worked at McKinsey leading digital transformations for shipping and logistics clients. He led the development of an industry leading data sharing effort in a Global Port, and led several digital strategy efforts for companies across the logistics value chain. Thor has a MSc in Mechanical Engineering (Hons) from the Technical University of Denmark.

Michael Lindahl
Vice President of Analytics
Michael is Vice President of Analytics at Portchain. Michael has worked with applying advanced analytics in different industries to improve planning and decision-making, such as manpower scheduling in airports, network design in offshore wind farms and timetabling at universities. He has a Ph.D. in operations research from the Technical University of Denmark.

Craig Halford
Vice President of Sales
Craig is the Vice President of Sales at Portchain. Previously he worked at Navis leading the Sales Strategy for Navis’ first SaaS platform and internal start-up named XVELA cloud collaboration. With 12 years experience from Navis, Craig’s roles included advising and selling to terminal, carrier and vessel executives, putting Craig in a strong position to further the goals of Portchain. Craig studied Computing for Business Applications at the University Manchester.

Rasmus Holmann Sørensen
Vice President of Product
Rasmus is the Vice President of Product at Portchain. His previous workplaces include Tradeshift and Falcon.io. With over 15 years of experience from start-ups and scale-ups, Rasmus comes with a strong product background and expertise in SaaS-based platform products. Rasmus’ vision for Portchain, its customers and users will ensure Portchain continues to create value-adding services and industry efficiencies.

Michele Capra
Director of Engineering
Michele is Director of Engineering at Portchain. Michele has been working in software industry for 9 years over a wide range of projects from mobile app to B2B SaaS applications. He is a Microsoft MVP and has been working in companies like nearForm. Michele has a MSc in Informatics Engineering from University of Brescia.

Jasper Boessenkool
Senior Sales Director
Jasper is Senior Sales Director at Portchain. He has extensive experience from Strategy Consulting and Technology & Innovation Management within technology intensive industries. He has 8 years of experience driving technology adaptation in the maritime sector: from Maersk, responsible for Future Technologies & Innovation, and Navis driving key client discussions on future requirements. Jasper has a MSc (with Merit) and a Ph.D. in Physics from Utrecht University (the Netherlands).

Sergei Patiakin
Engineering Team Lead
Sergei is an Engineering Team Lead at Portchain. Sergei has 3 years of experience in both large projects at Microsoft and startups in Silicon Valley. He has a deep expertise in databases, having worked on SQL Server and Azure SQL Database at Microsoft. He holds an MSc in Physics from the University of Cambridge.

Benjamin Simon
Engineering Team Lead
Benjamin is a dedicated Team Lead at Portchain, with over 10 years of experience in the software industry. He has worked at prestigious companies like Kramp and Forto, where he held roles as Lead and Engineering Manager for the past 4 years. Benjamin is a versatile Full Stack engineer with a background in Computer Engineering from Argentina.

Federico Gandellini
Staff Engineer
Federico is a Staff Engineer at Portchain. Federico has 10 years of experience as a full-stack developer, working in companies like MailUp and Antares Vision. He has an MSc in Information Technologies from University of Milan with an in-depth expertise in operations research.

Sebastian Christensen
Senior Data Scientist
Sebastian is a Data Scientist at Portchain. Sebastian has worked with quantitative analytics and machine learning in the financial industry for 4 years. He has developed risk quantification frameworks for energy trading and computer vision for insurance claim handling. He has a Ph.D. in nanoscience from Aarhus University of Denmark.

Alessandro Ferrari
Senior Software Engineer
Alessandro is a Senior Software Engineer at Portchain. He worked 9 years as a freelance full-stack developer then co-founded his own startup as CEO for 5 years. Alessandro joins Portchain after holding a 5 year term in the media industry as Head of Technology. Alessandro has an MSc in Physics from University of Parma.

João Paiva Fonseca
Senior Optimization Specialist
João is an Optimization Specialist at Portchain. João has worked with mathematical programming, heuristics and matheuristics to optimize transport planning for the last 4 years. His main focus has been within scheduling, timetabling, and passenger assignment within public transport planning. He holds an MSc in Transport and Logistics and has a Ph.D. in operations research, both from the Technical University of Denmark.

Stefano Gombi
Senior Software Engineer
Stefano is a Software Engineer at Portchain. He started as a JavaScript developer when he was 16, and never stopped since. Stefano has focused his career on Front-end and UI development in multiple industries, such as medical, food, and the ceramic industry, and is now working as a Full-Stack engineer.

Michele Mazzucco
Senior Product Designer
Michele is Senior Product Designer at Portchain, and has 4+ years of experience in the User Interface and User Experience fields. Michele has worked with companies like MailUp, Manfrotto, PayPal, TotalErg, and Sky. His work has received mentions in a number of prominent digital design magazines like Net Magazine, TNW, and DesignModo. Michele has a Bachelor in Graphic Design and Multimedia from the Academy of Fine Arts of Brescia.

Gorjan Dimitrov
Senior Product Manager
Gorjan is a Senior Product Manager at Portchain, bringing over ten years of experience from AdTech and FinTech companies like Google and Pleo. His experience ranges from product management, user journey optimisation, performance marketing and business intelligence in SaaS-based software, having studied Business Studies at Roskilde University.

Utku Ufuk
Senior Software Engineer
Utku is a Senior Software Engineer at Portchain who holds an MSc in Computer Science. He worked for more than 5 years as a software engineer at the Turkish Space Agency, where he gained expertise in the fields of satellite technologies and signal processing. He is also experienced in building user-facing web applications, having worked as a full-stack software engineer at small startups as well.

Jekabs Karklins
Senior Software Engineer
Jekabs is a experienced senior software engineer at Portchain. He has a wealth of expertise gained from working across diverse fields, ranging from developing software for cutting-edge science research facilities to leading the software development team for popular video games.

Angus Davidson
Senior Customer Success Manager
Angus is a Senior Customer Success Manager at Portchain, supporting the full lifecycle of Portchain Connect customers.Angus has over 10 years of experience working with SaaS platforms in healthcare and the PSA space. Focused on collaboration, Angus seeks to build partnerships to deliver maximum value across tools and processes.Angus has an LLB in Law with European Law from the University of Nottingham and the University of Copenhagen.

Paolo Tagliani
Senior Software Engineer
Paolo is a Senior Software Engineer at Portchain, bringing over ten years of versatile industry expertise in automotive, mobile gaming, and finance. His background spans mobile devices, backend and frontend development, Linux system programming, and embedded systems. Paolo holds an MSc in Informatics Engineering from the University of Brescia and LaSalle in Barcelona.

Jonas Warming
Senior Project Manager
Jonas is Portchain’s Senior Project Manager with the Customer team. Jonas started his career with Sealand Maersk in capacity management and vessel operations before leading network design and scheduling for feeders in Europe. Creating annual million dollar savings in the European region by optimizing capacity and integrating new best in class vessels. With further experience as a Newbuilding Project Manager at Maersk and a foray into tech as a Customer Experience Project Manager at Agoda.com Jonas brings 10+ years of hands on shipping knowledge and IT experience.

Luigi Balzano
Senior Software Engineer
Luigi is a Senior Software Engineer at Portchain. He is an experienced technology enthusiast with a Master´s Degree in Electronic Engineering. With a long career working with the big enterprises, he has acquired many different skills spanning from System Administration to IT Project Management. From 2019 he started to work with startups as Full Stack Developer and DevOps.

Laia Martín Anglada
Marketing Manager
Laia is a Marketing Manager in Portchain and brings good branding and marketing experience to the company. Having worked in the recycling and construction markets for the last 5 years, Laia has launched several successful regional and global marketing campaigns. She is graduated in MSc in Communication & Brand Management at Copenhagen Business School. Previously, she studied a BSc in International Business & Marketing at ESCI-Upf, in Barcelona.

Julie Aaboe
UX/Researcher
Julie is a UX/Researcher at Portchain. Julie has 3+ years of experience working with user experience and user research on a wide variety of projects across different industries, from the public sector to Fintech companies and more. Her experience has provided her with a user-centric mindset and an expertise in translating complex user needs into actionable findings to drive business impact. Julie holds a MSc in Digital Design and Communication from the IT University of Copenhagen.

Juan Alamo
Customer Support Specialist
Juan is Customer Support Specialist at Portchain. Juan counts on extensive working experience in IT, from helpdesk support to Technical Support Engineer and Product Specialist. Juan has worked in companies from different areas, such as telecommunications; banking; customer care; tourism & hospitality; transport & logistics; graphic design, and more. Over the years, Juan has also strengthened his organizational skills and knowledge in Project Management.

Alfred Thorhauge Holbech
Financial Analyst
Alfred is a Financial Analyst at Portchain. He is currently studying a BSc in Economics at the University of Copenhagen.

Lara Petersen
Marketing Analyst
Lara is a Marketing Analyst at Portchain with a background in the service industry and a focus on social media platforms. She is currently studying a Msc in Communications & Brand Management, after finishing a Bsc in Business Administration & Service Management at CBS.